The Project Nimbus Files - Week 1 Part 1
Project Nimbus · Part 1 of 4 · 1 of 2
Google and Amazon signed a contract with the Israeli military. It is on the public record. This is what it says.
The contract. The defense establishment. The AI tools. The state weapons manufacturers. The internal warnings. The public denial. Tomorrow: the workers who said no.
Israeli Finance Ministry. April 21 2021.
02 / 08
$1.2 billion. Google and Amazon. The Israeli government and its military. April 2021.
The Israeli Finance Ministry announced Google and Amazon won the contract to provide cloud services to "the government, the defense establishment and others."
Those are the Ministry's own words.
The Ministry of Defense and the IDF are documented customers.
AWS and Google built local cloud sites inside Israel keeping all data within its borders.
Source: Israeli Finance Ministry announcement April 21 2021, calcalistech.com · TIME Magazine April 12 2024, Ministry of Defense contract document
+972 Magazine, Local Call and The Guardian. February 2026.
03 / 08
The contract bars Google and Amazon from restricting how Israel uses their products. Even if it violates their own terms.
Leaked Finance Ministry documents obtained by The Guardian revealed Israel inserted two conditions into the deal.
First: Google and Amazon cannot restrict how Israel uses their products even if the use breaches their own terms of service.
Second: they must tip off Israel if a foreign court demands its data.
Both companies agreed.
The full AI and machine learning suite is included.
Source: +972 Magazine, Local Call and The Guardian February 4 2026, leaked contract · The Intercept 2021 and 2024, AI capabilities documentation
The Intercept. May 1 2024. 63-page procurement document.
04 / 08
Two Israeli state-owned weapons manufacturers are required by contract to use Google and Amazon.
A 63-page Israeli government procurement document obtained by The Intercept names Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries as mandatory Nimbus customers.
Rafael makes the Spike missile and Iron Dome interceptors.
IAI makes the Heron military drone and Harop loitering munition.
Both are state-owned.
Both are required users.
Source: The Intercept May 1 2024, "Project Nimbus Contract Ties Google, Amazon to Israel Arms Firms" · 63-page Israeli government procurement document
Internal documents. Before the contract was signed.
05 / 08
Internal Google documents show concerns about inability to monitor use and reputational risk. They signed anyway.
Internal documents from before signing revealed Google raised concerns about reputational risks and inability to monitor usage.
Over 70 percent of Google's Nimbus revenue reportedly comes from Israel's Ministry of Defense.
The contract included pre-emptive protection against legal accountability for military use.
In March 2024 Google Cloud engineer Eddie Hatfield interrupted a Google Israel keynote: "I refuse to build technology that powers genocide."
He was fired that week.
Source: +972 Magazine and The Guardian February 4 2026 · CNBC April 18 2024 · TechCrunch April 18 2024
Google's public statement. The documented evidence. The gap.
06 / 08
Google says the contract "is not directed at highly sensitive or military workloads relevant to weapons."
The Israeli Finance Ministry said "defense establishment."
The Ministry of Defense is a documented customer.
State weapons manufacturers are mandatory users.
TIME published a custom Google consulting contract with the Ministry of Defense.
Google gave the Ministry a 15 percent discount under the "Nimbus framework."
Google's statement and the documented evidence exist at the same time.
Both are on the public record.
Source: Google spokesperson statement 2021-2026 · The Intercept May 1 2024 · TIME Magazine April 12 2024
We are not making a claim. We are asking a question.
07 / 08
The contract says defense establishment. The Ministry of Defense is a customer. State weapons makers are required users. Google says it is not for military workloads. Which document do you believe?
The Israeli Finance Ministry said defense establishment.
Google said not military.
The leaked contract shows Israel pre-empted legal challenges over military use before signing.
Tomorrow: the employees who read the same documents and said no.
What it cost them.
The contract is on the public record.
Tomorrow · Tuesday · Part 2 of 2
28 fired. 9 arrested. Chris Smalls. The sit-ins. The silence that followed.